In conjunction with digging certain types of holes, it is desirable to form the hole with a circular profile having vertically oriented walls. While it is possible to hand dig these type of holes, it is often easier to form these type of holes with an auger.
While the auger enables relatively deep holes with vertically oriented walls to be formed, conventional augers discharge soil that is removed to form the hole on the ground adjacent to the hole. A portion of the soil typically falls back into the hole after the auger is removed from the hole to thereby reduce the depth of the hole that is available for planting. With conventional augers, there is no way to check the depth of the hole with ease.
Once the plant is placed in the hole, the soil is backfilled around the plant to retain the plant in a stationary position within the hole. Backfilling is typically done with by hand or a shovel or similar implement.